for: November 2004 |
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Each month I send you some results of muskie catches. Each month I try to share with you some of the things going on in the muskie world. Each month I try to bring something special into your life about Muskies, about Muskie fisher people, about Muskie, Inc. members and the neat things that happen. Over the years hundreds of you send me notes about your events during the season. Most of the time, I pull bits and pieces out of your letters and emails and share them with you. This month, I am just going to step aside and let you share the best written story I have ever received. Naturally we pulled a little influence here and the subject of this story is right there on the front cover of this magazine. Our writer is Bob Benson. He is a very good fisherman; he lives in Chetek, Wisconsin. He has a cabin on a very famous lake in northern Minnesota. He has a wonderful family. He has a story to tell about his family and the fun they have chasing our hobby. His comments come to you word for word. I needed a title for this article; after reading this five times, there it was right in front of me, handed to me by a little seven year old girl. Enjoy!
Trolling Is Boring!
I’ve sent in a few release forms in the past, but this one is my favorite so far. Like any muskie fisherman, I’ve tried to introduce my family to the sport over the years. My wife Pam has been at it for 13 years and has had numerous chances, she has yet to bring one into the boat. Last year I started introducing my son Jacob (8 years old) to the sport without much success. This year I tried to get my daughter Kaitlin (7 years old) started also. Last Sunday was her introduction as I loaded Jacob and Kaitlin into the boat and decided to do some trolling in the afternoon. We spent three hours on the water without any action so we decided to break for dinner. After dinner in the cabin, I did a quick check to see who wanted to go out and fish the evening with me. Pam wanted to get the cabin straightened up, and Jacob turned me down as he had a friend at a nearby cabin. Kaitlin decided she would go with, but “only if we can cast, because trolling is boring”. As we were leaving Mom told Kaitlin “you better not catch a muskie before I do”.
We went out across the lake to one of my favorite spots as I figured we’d only get in a few spots before casting becomes “boring” too. When we arrived at the spot, I grabbed a light action bait casting rod with a Calcutta 200, put on a black Creeper, backed way off on the drag, and cast it out. I then handed the rod to Kaitlin, and let her reel the bait in. About a third of the way in, I noticed a small boil behind the bait but nothing happened. At the end of the cast I decided to change Kaitlin’s lure to a Top Raider. We continued to move slowly, with me casting and then handing the rod to Kaitlin to reel in the lure. On the 4 th cast my jaw dropped as I saw a tail come out of the water as the lure disappeared with only a slight boil. I told Kaitlin to reel faster, and I could see the rod bend as the fish was shaking its head about a foot down in the clear water. My first instinct was to grab the rod from her and set the hook, but I decided to leave her alone and see what happens. The fish was on, and I was scared I’d only screw things up. The drag on the small Shimano reel worked perfectly as the fish was able to take line, but apparently enough pressure to work the hook home with no hook set. The drag setting was lucky as the only setting I know is locked as tight as you can. While we were only in 5-6 feet of water, it stayed below the surface only giving us an occasional glimpse. After a couple of minutes the fish came near the boat and appeared to be about 40 inches long. It boiled away from the boat as Kaitlin shrieked. The muskie peeled off about 20 yards of line and took a while to come back. I had stayed right next to Kaitlin the whole time as I did not want to lose the rod or my daughter to this Muskie. As the fish was away from the boat I left her briefly to get the net and scrambled back to the bow. I now thought we’d actually catch this fish. The fish took a long time to come back to the boat, and when it did, I saw why. The muskie had the line wrapped around its tail! Kaitlin brought the fish back three more times with the fish boiling away each time, one time spraying me with water as Kaitlin laughed. The muskie didn’t seem to be wearing down, but my daughter was. It was about the 5 th time the muskie shot away from the boat that Kaitlin decided that she was done fighting the fish and started to put the rod down!!! I told her that we were almost done and that she needed to bring the muskie back one more time. She kept the rod and kept reeling as she had been the whole time, even when the drag was going the other way. The muskie came back near the boat again, but took off with a barrel roll this time to get away from the boat. This had me scared that it may get off, but did result in the line getting off of the fishes tail. As the muskie came back to the boat head first this time, I was able to slip the Beckman net under it and contain it in the net. Kaitlin had her first Muskie! She had fought the fish from hook set, or lack of one, to the net without a bit of help from Dad, other than words of encouragement.
We exchanged a quick High Five, and then I turned my attention to the fish. As I bent over to get the hook out of its jaw, if first dawned on me that, THIS IS A PRETTY BIG FISH. The whole time Kaitlin was fighting it, I figured it would get away and was paying more attention to her than the fish. As I looked at the fish in detail for the first time I broke out laughing and said “Holy Cow Kaitlin, I think you caught a 50 incher! I grabbed the fish, and laid it on the ruler and it measured 49 ¼ inches, WOW! I asked her if she wanted to hold it and she said yes. (She didn’t know it, but she didn’t have a choice.) She sat on the rear deck as I placed the muskie in her arms and snapped two quick photos.
We then placed the muskie back in the water and watched it swim away as its tail waved good bye to us on the surface of the lake. We then started jumping up and down, and exchanged more hugs and high fives. We talked about the events that just happened and of course I had her smell the muskie slime on her hands and her arms. We then measured Kaitlin with the ruler; she was 49 inches tall, the same as her Muskie! Of course she wanted to rush back and tell Mom immediately. As usual, I decided we’d try one more spot first. On about the third cast in the next spot, Kaitlin was retrieving the Top Raider again as a bulge began to form behind the lure. This time the fish exploded on the bait, but did not touch it. Kaitlin just kept reeling the whole time and said, “did you see that Dad”? We took a few more casts and Kaitlin asked if we could go tell Mom now. It was hard for me to leave, but I figured I was going to be in enough trouble with Kaitlin’s Mom and older brother when they heard the news that Kaitlin had caught a Muskie before them, let alone, one that was nearly 50 inches long. This was truly a moment that Kaitlin and I will always remember. For the next 3 or 4 days she’d walk up to me every couple of hours, give me a hug and say, “Thanks for taking me fishing, Dad”. Hope all is well, Bob Benson
Jim Bunch
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